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Weather doesn't have anything to do with it. I've had the problem since I purchased my 2003 325i, a few months ago (passenger side).
I bought new bulbs but that didn't solve the problem. Matter of fact, the new bulb, on the drivers side took out the ignitor and ballast.
So I bought a new ignitor and ballast. Drivers side fixed. I then bought a new ballast for passengers side. Problem still exists.
So now I am purchasing an ignitor for the passengers side.

Think about this. These work just like fluorescent bulbs that you see in stores.
They have a ballast and an ignitor and a bulb.
Of course they also have the motor assembly for the self-leveling feature.
Unless something has been broken or you were messing around with the fixture, it should be sealed.

Update: So the passenger side xenon died on me the other day. Luckily I know a guy in Toronto that has GREAT deals on Xenon bulbs. Dropped in a replacement bulb, ordered a new set, and i'm probably going to grab a ballast from him too.

Going to try to revive this since i'm having the same issue. Namely when it's cold or rainy out, the passenger side bulb doesn't fire right away, often times having to turn on and off a few times before it starts up. Did anyone figure out what the issue was? I tried switching the bulb, i even switched the ballasts, neither of those were the issue. The passenger side light is also a slightly different color (yellowish). When i switched the bulbs the color was still off. My next step was to replace the igniter but it seems like that might not even be the issue. Ideas?

For me, it was the ignitor (the hardest part to replace!) Unfortunately, I wouldn't say your issue is DEFINITELY the ignitor, but you should be able to tell by swapping left/right, bulbs first, then ballasts, finally ignitors. One of those swaps should move the problem to the other side of the car, and you'll have your culprit.

The same logic can be used for the discoloring. I'm guessing it's the bulb itself, but maybe the ballast or ignitor is doing something funky to it.

I'm glad this Topic got revived because I've been having this problem for years with my driver side headlight. The hesitation/delay of the driver side light turning on. The other night it wouldn't come on at all so I drove home with one light out. Today, it still will not turn on. I finally gave in and made an appointment at the dealership for Dec 31...We'll see! But as weird as it sounds, just like someone here mentioned, it's always giving me more problems during winter time than summer.

Same here. I've had this problem on my drivers side xenon for years, and it only shows up this time of year in the colder weather. Always say I'm going to fix it but never have. I'm in the south, so it really isn't all that cold for very long, so I just keep pushing it off and then forget about it in the summer because it generally works fine then- only a maybe a 1 second delay sometimes for the driver's side to light up after the headlights are turned on.

I've done the bulb swap and haven't gone any further than that because I haven't really wanted to disassemble the whole headlight assembly. I'm just going to break down and get an igniter from ECS tuning and take it all apart and finally replace it. They've got good prices.

Same here. I've had this problem on my drivers side xenon for years, and it only shows up this time of year in the colder weather. Always say I'm going to fix it but never have. I'm in the south, so it really isn't all that cold for very long, so I just keep pushing it off and then forget about it in the summer because it generally works fine then- only a maybe a 1 second delay sometimes for the driver's side to light up after the headlights are turned on.

I've done the bulb swap and haven't gone any further than that because I haven't really wanted to disassemble the whole headlight assembly. I'm just going to break down and get an igniter from ECS tuning and take it all apart and finally replace it. They've got good prices.

Just FYI, you should be able to swap the ballasts without disassembly (which is a PITA). You'd need to remove the assembly from the car by disconnecting the wiring harnesses and removing a couple screws, then the ballasts are just sitting there, attached to the bottom of the assembly. This process may require you to re-aim your headlights, but that's not the end of the world. Replacing an ignitor will FOR SURE force you to do a re-aim...

Update on my problem. I was told the new ignitor they tried did not work. I have to have a new Lighting Control Module at an arm and a leg price of $900! My car is currently at the dealership for the weekend, since the part had to be ordered. At least they gave me a loaner. Damn!!!

Update on my problem. I was told the new ignitor they tried did not work. I have to have a new Lighting Control Module at an arm and a leg price of $900! My car is currently at the dealership for the weekend, since the part had to be ordered. At least they gave me a loaner. Damn!!!

My problem was fixed...$900 later! A new ignitor, part #63126907504 ($150.49) and a new Lighting Control Unit, part #63127176068 ($509.00) plus labor...OUCH! These two parts are cheaper if you buy them online, and if you can do it yourself. But I just wanted to make sure it was done right.